The Story Conference was amazing. Truly an incredible time. I got to meet so many great people. I’ll share all those stories on Monday.

Last week, my wife and I, along with Rich and Shelley, attended a justice conference in Toronto. In an all-Asian church. Quite the experience.  We heard about adopting, fostering, and sex trafficking. They had a time of worship, and they gave everyone a response card to fill out at the end of the night.

Now normally in church, the response card has the following options:

• -Prayer Requests
• -More information
• -Join a small group
• -Find a program for my kids
• -Become a member

If a church is feeling particularly gutsy, they might even add “I want to accept Jesus as my Lord and Saviour.”

I guess they do things different in Asian churches.  Methinks Easterners care a bit more about what God is calling us to do. Because here were your options on the response card…

• -Attend Bible College/seminary in preparation for future ministry
• -Serve God in church planting ministry.
• -Serve God full-time in church or Christian organization
• -Participate in local missions
• -Participate in overseas short-term missions trip.
• -Serve God as a full time missionary/tentmaker.

Dang. We gotsta step it up yo!

Oh… and let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. -Hebrews 10:24-

Jay

If you haven’t yet heard of Ben Arment, you soon will.  He’s an uber blogger over at History in the Making.  In the spring of 2010 he’ll be releasing a book called Church in the Making. It’s a book about 3 things that make or break a church before it even begin.  This book might just forever change the way we plant churches in North America.

But set all that aside for the moment.  Because tomorrow Ben hosts a conference that he’s been planning and dreaming about for years.  It’s called STORY. It’s for communicators of the gospel.

I’m get filled with a holy anticipation. I’m excited to listen to amazing communicators.  I’m pumped to watch a passionate leader like Ben in action.

I’ll be doing my best to blog and Tweet the conference as best I can, promise.

Jay

Friday night Michelle and I went to Toronto with our dear friends Rich and Shelley to justice conference at an all-Asian church.  As we walked in Rich exclaimed, “whoa, visible minority here!” There were about 5 white people and 500 Asians…it was amazing! Got to see our dear friend Brian from the Ratanak Foundation. He’s a great man of God fighting sex trafficking in Cambodia.

We got to hear some great music from Geoff Moore, and he shared his deep heart for adoption.  He has two girls.  His best friend Steven Curtis Chapman has 3.

Adoption has been a HUGE focus in our lives this past month- it seems to be coming up again and again.  I think since we’re all adopted into God’s family, and we’re supposed to be like Jesus, it’s only fitting that Christ-followers should be the ones to step up and adopt the 143 million orphans in the world today.

I sold a truck on Saturday at work.  That means *this guy* is going to the STORY Conference in Chicago…IF he can find tickets to the packed out event!

Saturday evening was UFC104. Very disappointed with Machida’s showing.

Sunday morning bagels with our friend Allison, then a visit to The Meeting House in Ancaster.  The question that Jesus kept blaring was “WHAT IS THE FRUIT I AM BEARING?”  That’s a huge question we must answer daily.

BLESSED to spend the afternoon with Eric, Laura, Jeff, Jamie, and Steve. Spiritual conversation in community is probably one of the most fulfilling things I do. Seriously love it.

Found out that we passed quite an amazing milestone this weekend:
Sexrev.org, less than 9 full months old, just welcomed it’s 10,000th unique visitor!!!
Over 25,000 visits. Over 42,000 page views.  106 countries.

Who would have imagined besides God right?!  I am so grateful that YOU are reading this, right now. I can truly say this with an honest heart: each and every single page view matters to me. Because my hope is that each and every single page has the potential for God to indwell and draw people closer to Him.  And that’s the point- closer to Jesus.

Christian or not, we could all need to be a little closer to Him who wrote it all.  And so I’m very blessed and grateful today that God would use my hands to reach His world.

Made a new friend Sunday night.  A buddy from B.C asked me to connect with a girl he went to school with out east…a girl with a heart for justice. Michelle and I met up for coffee at Williams by the bayfront…God also showed up and did some pretty neat things

Came home and Michelle showed me a video clip that has been breaking her heart lately.  Seems this beautiful young wife got her flu shot and by some freak accident, it destroyed her neurologically.

This clip REALLY resonates with the theme of our lives for the past 6 months, which is “My God sustains me.”

He is all we need and is more than enough.  He sustains us.  His word is our daily reminder that we are His and He is mine.

Let me know how your weeks went and what I can pray about.  Connect over FB or Twitter or through the chat line or comment below.  Be blessed this week.  I hope your next 6 days are game-changing in advancing God’s will in our world.

Love, Jay

Did you know that a professional tennis player can place a ball on one side of the court, then go to the other side, aim, and serve another ball (at blazing speeds) and hit the first one?

Did you know that when a professional basketball player is practicing and isn’t under pressure, he can normally sink 10 shots in a row?

Did you know that baseball player can use a 2.75 inch bat to hit a 2.9 inch ball moving at over 100mph?

Did you know that an NFL football wide receiver can catch a ball moving up to 70mph…while running at full sprint?

Did you know that little of what we ever hope to accomplish actually ever happens because we lack the one thing that pro athletes have in common?

Focus.

Pro athletes make their living by staying focused. Wins and losses come down to moments of clarity and moments of intense elimination of all distractions.

My suggestions for gaining some pro-athlete-caliber focus:

1. Pick something to aim at. If you don’t know where you’re going, then any road will do!
2. Eliminate distractions. Turn neither to your left or your right. Once you’ve picked something- stick with it!
3. Focus intensely. Keep your aim in your sights at all time. Think about it day and night. Never stop having the conversation in your head. Continually be working it over in your mind. Write it down. Say it out loud. Share it with others. Live it out.
4. Follow through with all that practice has taught you to do. This is key. Winning comes from doing the hard work ahead of time- character development, experience, relationships, learning, growing. There are no overnight successes.

While these principles will work for reaching any goal, may I make a suggestion for what to ultimately aim at?

Jesus.

Not your boyfriend or girlfriend. Not your spouse. Not your church, your ministry, or your job. Not your dreams, not your goals.

Jesus.

Then throw off the sin that so easily entangles. Fix your eyes upon Jesus. And then with patient endurance, run the race set out before you.

“Make it your aim to do what is right, not what is evil, so that you may live.” -Amos 5:14-

Jay

Community. Together. Teamwork. Fellowship. Church. The Kingdom. His glory and honor and fame.

You love those words.

But you don’t live by them.

You’re a one man band.

Hero.

You work for you. You save for you. You invest for you. You live for you. Your every waking moment is about you.

Maybe you read, maybe you pray. Maybe you support a kid or two in Africa. Great. Good start.

Not good enough.

To whom much has been given, MUCH is required. Do you get that?

You can say you get it, but do you DO it?

You can say you love people, but what are you doing to prove it?

Words mean NOTHING unless they’re backed up with action.

Actions speak louder than words. The silence of your words must be deafening.

What’s your action?

Show me. Prove me wrong. What truly sets you apart?

Working your job, eating dinner with friends, watching TV and going to sleep…that’s all about you. That has nothing to do with helping people in need.

You’re in it for you. Maybe your family. But that’s it.

Truth is, you’ve gotten lazy. You’ve gotten comfortable.

It’s pride. It’s arrogance. It’s too much alone time. Too much wasting time.

Step it up. Turn it on. Light it up.

Get back to your first love. Let Him pour out of your heart into the lives of others.

Carve out time for people. Do something for His least of these.

Life’s not about you. It’s about us. Together. With Him. Forever.

Make that happen today.